350 guns seized, two men arrested on weapons charges

Two men were arrested Tuesday in San Bernardino County on suspicion of illegally trafficking in firearms after they allegedly sold guns to agents from the California Department of Justice.

Hours after the arrest of Alvin Seal, 67, of Oildale, and Erik Stoffel, 39, of Apple Valley, investigators using search warrants discovered more than 300 handguns, rifles, two World War II grenades and one mortar round at homes on Beardsley Avenue in Oildale and on Cronese Road in Apple Valley.

Investigators said Seal and Stoffel were in possession of about 50 guns at the time of their arrests. Some residents living near the suspects' homes were evacuated as authorities executed the search warrants.

Assisting the Department of Justice were officers from the California Highway Patrol and deputies from the Kern County Sheriff's Department, said Nicholas Pacilio, a spokesman for state Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris.

Residents were allowed to return home after the explosive devices were removed by the sheriff's bomb squad, Pacilio said.

Seal and Stoffel were booked into the San Bernardino County Jail, he said.